Young Dual Language Learners (Birth through 5 years). TOPIC #4.2—Language
Development. FACT # 1: Learning another language is a huge task for young ...
Young Dual Language Learners (Birth through 5 years) TOPIC #4.2—Language Development FACT # 1: Learning another language is a huge task for young children which takes both time AND support (August & Shanahan, 2008; Castro, et al., 2011; DeHouwer, 2009; Escamilla, 2005; Espinosa, 2010; Tabors, 2008). Although young children are wired to learn more than one language that does not mean that learning another language is easy or instantaneous. Children learn vocabulary and acquire phonological and grammatical proficiency in their second language slowly—“they do not ‘soak language up like a sponge’” (Paradis, et al., 2011, p.139). Learning to understand and express language proficiently requires time, patience, and language supports—even for very young children. While young children may pick up simple social language without additional support, they often need extra visual, sensory, and interactive supports to understand and produce the more complex language of stories, multi-step directions, and higher-level learning activities (August, et al., 2006; Castro, et al., 2011). It’s a myth that young children learn to speak and understand English with native-like proficiency “as if by magic” by simply placing them in English-only speaking environments (Castro, et al., 2011; DeHouwer, 2009; Paradis, et al, 2011). FACT #2: Immersing children who are dual language learners in English-only programs at a very young age (i.e., when they are still in the active stages of learning language) may have negative long-term social, emotional, and academic consequences (Espinosa, 2008). Young children who are learning a home language as they acquire English and receive services only in English or are placed in English-only programs often begin to prefer English. This often results in the loss of their home language and the inability to communicate with parents, siblings, grandparents, or other important extended family members (Escamilla, 2005). If parents or other primary caregivers are unable to fully and easily communicate with their children, it becomes very difficult to maintain close emotional and familial bonds. When children lose their home language, their developing self-concept can also be negatively impacted; and the educational and social benefits of their full linguistic and ethnic identity are also potentially lost (Paradis, et al., 2011; Stechuck & Burns, 2005). Actually, studies show that children who are immersed in English at a very young age without home language support actually experience depressed academic achievement in English over time in school (Espinosa, 2008). Unfortunately, those same children have usually never acquired literacy skills in their home language or had sufficient opportunity to develop and maintain literacy skills in their home language. FACT #3: Home language support helps ensure uninterrupted conceptual development in young children who are dual language learners as they acquire English (Office of Head Start,2008; Stechuck & Burns,2005 ; Thomas & Collier, 2002). It is important that children continue learning and developing cognitively without interruption as they begin to decode their new language. Young children actively learn about many concepts during their early years including those related to size, quantity, quality, or direction. This important conceptual development forms the foundation for all future academic learning. If services or instruction are provided only in English, however, children may miss important information and fall behind their native English-speaking peers as they try to understand the new language. By supporting the development of children’s home language, programs can “concurrently support their continued development of conceptual and academic skills” as they acquire English (Stechuck & Burns, 2005, p. 11). Providing home language support will also help ensure that children who are dual language learners have equal access to the curriculum or services your program offers.
Instructional Tips Remember to provide as many opportunities as possible for children to hear and use their home language in your program—even if you don’t speak the language! Invite parents and community volunteers who speak the children’s home language to visit and participate in your program on a daily or weekly basis. Help parents or community volunteers make audio recordings or videos of traditional songs, rhymes and stories in their home language. Encourage children to speak with each other and with you in their home language. Ask children how to say words or phrases in their home language—let them teach you! If your program has bilingual staff or volunteers available, encourage them to speak in the children’s home language rather than in English when with the children! Choose specific activities or times within your program’s daily routine to use children’s home language according to the availability of bilingual staff and volunteers. Examples include conducting small group activities in the children’s home language on a daily or weekly basis, singing songs in the children’s home language, speaking in the children’s home language during snack time, reading stories in the children’s home language, and reviewing or teaching new concepts in the home language. When speaking, teaching, or providing services in English, make sure that you provide children with adequate language supports throughout the daily routine. This may take the form of providing visuals, gestures, verbal and/or physical modeling, repetition, as well as speaking clearly and succinctly. Examples include: providing visual picture schedules and reviewing the children’s routine daily; using visuals, gestures, and modeling to pre-teach and teach songs, simple games, or concepts; and using consistent words and gestures when giving directions.
Connecting with Families Reassure parents that speaking to their children in the home language will actually support their youngsters’ learning of English. Encourage parents to continue engaging in conversations with their children in the home language so that their children don’t stop developing rich vocabulary and concepts as they acquire English. Reciting traditional rhymes, singing songs, telling stories, and reading books in the home language are additional ways that parents can help their children develop language and learn important concepts. Make sure parents have necessary and accurate information about dual language learning so that they can make informed decisions about their children’s development. Although parents want their children to learn English, they rarely want or understand that their children may lose their home language in the process. Make sure parents understand that in order for their children to become truly bilingual they will need to continue developing their home language as they acquire English. Copies of Facts #1-3 on language development could be translated as a concrete resource for parents or your program might create its own simple handout for parents. Ask parents and caregivers what your program can do to help ensure that their children are being supported in the home language as they acquire English. Create language goals together with parents about how their children will be supported to learn English as they continue developing their home language. Maintain open communication and frequent visits between parents and your program so that parents can see, question, and understand what their children are learning in English. Parents may want to reinforce or review what their children are experiencing and practicing in your program in their home language. Likewise, you will want to discuss and reinforce children’s experiences at home in your program—possibly in their home language and in English! (Funded by Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Grant CFDA #84.323A)
Topics #4.1 & #4.2: Language Development References
August, D. & Shanahan, T. (2008). Developing reading and writing in second-language learners. NY, NY: Routledge in conjunction with the International Reading Association and the Center for Applied Linguistics. Bardige, B. & Bardige, M.K. (2008). Talk to me baby! Supporting language development in the first three years. Washington, DC: Zero to Three. Castro, D., Ayankoya, B., & Kasprzak, C. (2011). New voices, nuevas voces: guide to cultural & linguistic diversity in early childhood. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. DeHouwer, A. (2009). Bilingual first language acquisition. Tonawanda, NY: Multilingual Matters Escamilla, K. (2005). Ten essential research findings. Early Childhood Education Brief. Boulder, CO: Bueno Center, University of Colorado. Espinosa, L. (2008). Challenging common myths about young English language learners. Foundation for Child Development Policy Brief No. Eight. Available online at http://www.fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/MythsOfTeachingELLsEspinosa.pdf
Genesee,F. (2010). Dual language development in preschool children. In García, E. & Frede, E. (Eds). Young English language learners: current research and emerging directions for practice and policy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Office of Head Start (2008). Dual language learning: What does it take? Head Start Dual Language Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/ Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Washington, D.C Paradis, J., Genesee, F. & Crago, M. (2011). Dual language development & disorders: A handbook on bilingualism & second language learning (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. Rodríguez-Brown, F. (2010). A research perspective on the involvement of linguistic-minority families on their children’s learning. In García, E. & Frede, E. (Eds). Young English language learners: current research and emerging directions for practice and policy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Stechuk, R. & Burns, M.S. (2005). Making a difference: A framework for supporting first and second language development in preschool children of migrant farm workers. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development (AED) Center for Early Care & Education. Tabors, P. (2008). One child, two languages (second ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. Thomas, W.P. & Collier, V.P. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students’ long-term academic achievement. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence.
